Mazda to sell diesel-hybrid cars in FY 2016 – report

According to a report by The Yomiuri Shimbun, Mazda could be the first Japanese carmaker to begin selling diesel-hybrid cars in Japan and Europe as early as fiscal year 2016.

The report adds that the Hiroshima-based manufacturer is targeting a fuel economy of 40 km per litre with its diesel-hybrids, and suggests that the diesel engine will be the main source of drive, with an engine-powered small motor playing a supporting role.

The sold-in-Japan-only Mazda 3 Hybrid (above) is a petrol-hybrid, mating the battery, control system, electric motor and eCVT from the Toyota Prius to Mazda’s own 2.0 litre SkyActiv-G petrol engine. The result is a claimed fuel economy of 30.8 km per litre on the JC08 cycle.

PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mercedes-Benz both have diesel-hybrid vehicles on sale, denoted by the HYbrid4 and BlueTEC Hybrid monikers respectively.

Diesel-powered vehicles account for half of new car sales in Europe. They’re also on the rise in Japan, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun – around 76,000 units found homes in the Land of the Rising Sun last year, which is about 1.9 times up on the year before.

While most dream of the future, Jonathan Tan dreams of the past, although he's never been there. Fantasises much too often about cruising down Treacher Road (Jalan Sultan Ismail) in a Triumph Stag that actually works, and hopes this stint here will snap him back to present reality.

Plus lousy Euro 2M standard fuel. Many green diesel vehicles unable to reach Boleh Land. Even though some can enter, modifications still needed to suit the fuel and the emission and fuel consumption will be different from the Europe and Australia figures.

Fuel saving cars in Malaysia are getting tax rebates. This could easily be 100% tax free (just like the S400 hybrid), at least until the end of 2015. Hopefully the government will extend that, and SOON. Car makers need some time to make plans…

National cars surely will also want better fuel quality… in any case Proton needs to develop cars for better fuel quality anyway in order to export them. And then downtune the engines for the Malaysian market…

One thing I hate about hybrid car is that they always scarifies the trunk space for batteries…why can’t just makes the battery flat and squeeze them under occupant floor area between drive shaft and exhaust pipe ?

A few reasons. First of all the car has to be from scratch be designed for that. The space would remain unused in non hybrid/electric versions.

Then there is the risk of something on the road may pierce the battery, which is a bit dangerous as it leads to a fire (though you’ll have plenty of time to stop the car and get out of it). Happened to Tesla (lowering a car doesn’t help… Tesla’s fix was improving the armour even more and raising the ride height while driving on the highway (the car usually sits low when driving on the highway to reduce drag and improve range).

looks like the european got it right…diesels are the waayy to go, even the normal turbodiesels are doing far better on average compared to petrols hybrid in REAL world test. And lately Japanese consumers have started to embrace diesels too (increase in sale of diesel cars)thanks to the removals of previous ancient legislation penalising diesels cars.

Diesels hybrid will further improve the already good mileage of a diesels cars until we move to future all electric vehicles. Yup, Mazda have taken the leading initiative amongst the Japs car manufacturer. Good job Mazda

Diesel and hybrid are good for different things. Diesels aren’t good for short distance drives, it IIRC hurts the engine. A diesel needs to be driven. They are great for highway driving, low FC there. A hybrid system is great for stop & go. Combining the two seems like a good idea, but it always depends on what it is used for. Diesel engines are also heavier, and I guess more expensive (at least manufacturers charge more).

You can either post as a guest or have an option to register. Among the advantages of registering is once a name has been registered, a guest cannot post using that name. If you have an account, please login before commenting. If you wish to have a profile photo next to your name, register at Gravatar using the same e-mail address you use to comment.